Burning the bridge
by Calandraa
Summary: Gabriel thinks about Aziraphale and how to deal with his disobedience, but the other Archangels beat him to it. Gabriel, Michael, "Crowley", Uriel, Sandalphon


Soooo, a lot of people in this fandom ship Aziraphale/Gabriel. My heart beats for Crowley and Aziraphale, BUT I see the appeal of Aziraphale and Gabriel. However, I just cannot get over the fact that this self-righteous asshole of an Archangel tries to murder my favorite Principality. That's why I made this mini AU were he does not.  
I hope you like it.

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A mess! A bloody mess! 6000 years of planning and everything down the drain because of a stubborn boy. Surprise! Lucifer's son is a spoiled disobedient little brat.

And the horsemen? Three of them beaten by a bunch of children. Did they not train their skills? Did they even have skills besides looking scary? And of course Azrael had wiggled out of it and left him with the remaining chaos.

Downstairs had not even managed to punish the boy for ruining the Great Plan. Because the brat had just reshaped reality. It was of course not a 100 percent sure who had told the boy that he could do that but it probably was no coincidence that the child had been ripped out of time and brought back only seconds before Satan had arrived, just like Aziraphale and that demon he consorted with.

Gabriel sighs. Aziraphale. What to do with him? Partly the Archangel blames himself. He should probably never have recommended to give the soft-hearted blond angel a flaming sword and send him to Eden. And he should definitely have declined when Aziraphale volunteered to be stationed on Earth after the unfortunate end of paradise. But only so few angels wanted to go there back then. It would have looked silly to turn down volunteers. Especially since the other Archangels like to point out Gabriel's soft spot for Aziraphale. And it is true. That much Gabriel has to admit. He lets Aziraphale get away with several habits and actions he would not let slide if it was any other principality.

With a sad smile, Gabriel recalls the day he met Aziraphale. His spirit shone so bright. Innocent, curios, eager, kind, intelligent and somewhat stubborn. And his beautiful vessel: Golden hair, alabaster skin, deep blue eyes and a pleasant voice. A little too soft for a warrior, but the blond angel proved himself during the revolution and nobody objected when Gabriel suggested to make him a guard of Eden. And how Aziraphale smiled at him that day. He had been anxious upon hearing that he needed a weapon for his task but as soon as he was told that he would meet and protect the humans, all that fell from him and he was almost giddy.

Gabriel smiles at the memory. Maybe it was a mistake to keep a professional distance to Aziraphale. But he reminded him too much of Belith: so pure but so full of questions. He let her so close and discussed her doubts with her. A mistake. It encouraged her to question, to inquire, to doubt. And on that faithful day she followed the Morning Star. She Fell. And now her face is blurry when he tries to recall it, thinking of her name alone makes his mind foggy and while he recalls the emotions she woke in him, he no longer feels them.

So he kept Aziraphale at a distance and tried to nip any rebellious thought in the bud. Instead he turned a blind eye at many earthly pleasures the angel indulged in, allowed too many frivolous miracles before he reprimanded him, was lenient when rules were broken and outright ignored when they were just bended. Hoping that as long as Aziraphale was happy and satisfied, he would not go astray.

But just as he lost Belith to Lucifer, he lost Aziraphale to Crowley, the redheaded demon that looked so strangely familiar. (1)

Well, Aziraphale did not Fall. But he was partly responsible for the largest chaos since the rebellion. Sure, his role in the actual averting of Armageddon is passionately disputed among the angels. The boy's decision was made when Gabriel and Beezlebub arrived, if anything Aziraphale's and Crowley's remarks backed the boy's decision up, maybe stabilized it. But Aziraphale's decisions and actions cause other angels to question, too. Michael, Uriel and Sandalphon may look down on the soft principality but other angels, like Gabriel himself, are quite fond of the kind-hearted and approachable angel. They just cannot see Aziraphale as Evil. So they deem it possible that he did the right thing in averting the apocalypse, even though he disobeyed direct orders of the Archangels in doing so. So now – because of Aziraphale - there is a huge number of angels who are not automatically condemning disobedience. The other Archangels will not stand for that.

Gabriel sighs again. He cannot forever avoid talking to them about it. They will want to punish Aziraphale. Probably recall him, never allow him to return to Earth. It will pain the blonde angel and even though he is mad at him, Gabriel does not want him to suffer too badly. But needs must. He will suggest to recall Aziraphale from his duties on Earth, imprison him for a few decades and maybe, if he shows remorse, he can return to Earth in 500 years, should it still exist then. Hell will no doubt destroy Crowley so he can no longer corrupt the angel. Yes, that might work and if Aziraphale sees that Gabriel speaks on his behalf, visits him during imprisonment, maybe they can become… closer. The Archangel allows himself a tiny smile. Yes, that sounds nice.

Determined to solve the issue, Gabriel nods and goes to find the other Archangels. Deep in thought he is startled when the elevator dings just as he passes it. Michael steps out. She obviously did not expect to see him either and looks taken aback for a moment. But then she smiles.

"Gabriel." She says respectfully and nods, letting her hands slowly glide behind her back.

Gabriel returns the greeting and inquires: "What do you have there?"

"Hm?"

"Behind your back!" He walks around her to look at the item she tries to hide.

Frowning Gabriel takes the glass carafe from her hands. It is mostly empty but the remaining drops of liquid are unmistakably. Holy water. And not from Earth, blessed by a priest. It's the Holiest, extracted only from the well in the center of Heaven.

"Michael", he says. "Why are you carrying Holy Water around?"

"It was needed."

"By whom? I thought we agreed that nobody takes from the well without my permission. The gallon that disappeared in the 1970s is still missing."

"I did not want to disturb you, Gabriel." Michael explains with a weird expression on her face.

Gabriel narrows his eyes. She is hiding something.

"You can always come to me if you need something." He says with a broad smile. "So who asked for it?"

"It's really not important."

"Oh, come on, Michael." He laughs. "You would not take from the Holy Well for something – or someone – insignificant."

"Really, no need to burden you…"

She falls silent immediately as he steps in her personal space (2) and looks down on her, his smile still bright but his violet eyes glinting in a way that leaves no room for further discussion.

"Who, Michael?" He asks again, his tone cold.

Michael swallows and hesitates but then she answers: "Beezlebub."

"Beezlebub?!" Gabriel exclaims in disbelief. "Prince of Hell, second in command of the army of the Damned?"

"Yes, that is correct!" Michael nods.

"She seemed upset, alright, but not suicidal." The taller Archangel inquires further. "What for does she want it."

"An execution." The redhead answers. "The demon Crawley is to be destroyed for his treason. They asked for our help."

"Since when do we help Hell do their dirty business?"

"They have no way of killing him with the tools they have at hand."

"So? Not our problem." Gabriel scoffs. If he is honest with himself, the death of the demon is exactly what he wants. He was it that corrupted the innocent Aziraphale in the first place and drove a wedge between him and the Heavenly Host. But still, something is not right here. He feels it, so he asks further: "Why did you do that?"

Again, Michael hesitates and Gabriel's patience wears thin. Not gentle at all, he grabs her arm.

"Why?" He demands.

"We… we needed something from them, too." She answers, her usual calm demeanor crumbling a bit.

"What?"

"Hellfire." She says and looks away.

"Hellf… What for HER sake for?" Gabriel all but roars. The mere thought of the only effective weapon against an angel's essence in Heaven shakes him to the core.

Still gazing to the ground she worries her bottom lip. Finally, hesitant, she meets his eyes.

"Gabriel, we did this for you." She says pleadingly. "So that you did not have to do it."

"What are you talking about?"

"Your… soft spot for him was always a problem." She continues. "But now, now it keeps you from doing what has to be done."

"My soft spot? For who?" Gabriel is at loss for a moment. But then it dawns on him and confusion is cast away by horror. He asks with panic in his voice: "Michael! Where is Aziraphale?"

She does not answer until he grabs her shoulders and shakes her.

"Where is he?" He yells.

"With Uriel and Sandalphon." She says. "But it does not matter. It should be done by now."

The flawless white walls are nothing but a blur as he runs through the endless corridors. He stumbles around a corner and in the distant he hears a fire roaring. Cursing he follows the sound and as he finds his brethren, he immediately comes to a halt.

There, from a stone circle on the floor, rises a Hellish Fire, hot but not comforting. Damnation and Despair burn inside the flame and Gabriel can see a figure in it. Aziraphale! But he is not burning, not writhing in agony, not dying a painful death. No, he looks relaxed. It seems he is enjoying the heat of the flames that engulf his body. Eyes closed, he lets his neck crack and a moan of pleasure escapes his mouth. But then he opens his eyes and looks at Uriel and Sandalphon who stare at him in disbelief and horror. The grin he suddenly wears is nothing Gabriel has never seen on his face before.

Then the blond angel parts his lips and, accompanied by a roar, breathes Hellfire at the two Archangels in front of him. No, not _at_ them but in their direction. Shocked they stumble back.

"What is he?" Uriel asks over the thunderous noise of the fire, but Sandalphon just gives a helpless shrug.

After a while Aziraphale steps out of the flame.

"Well, since my punishment was walking into the flame," he says calmly. "I suppose we are done here. Or was there a strict minimum of minutes I have to stand in there that I fell below?"

Uriel and Sandalphon look at each other and back at Aziraphale. When they don't answer, he speaks up again.

"Can we agree that it is in our mutual best interest if we part ways now for… let's say… ever?" He asks. "We do have our differences and I really don't want things to get too… heated. Don't you agree?"

The two Archangels in front of him just nod dumbly and he smiles.

"I am glad we sorted that out. Have a lovely day, my dears!" Full of delight he speaks to the two beings who just tried to kill him before he walks away.

As he spots Gabriel, he looks surprised for a moment but then he gives him a smile and a nod, too.

"Good day to you, Gabriel!" He beams before gesturing between him and the other Archangels. "I won't keep you. I bet you have a lot to discuss!"

Wistfully Gabriel watches him walk away. He does not know how the angel survived the Hellfire. But he knows that Aziraphale will not come back. Not after this.

A treacherous Archangel pulled away Belith. But three faithful Archangels pushed away Aziraphale.

The End

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Footnotes

1) A lot of the Fallen look strangely familiar. They are former angels after all. God erased the remaining angels' memories of the rebels after the Fall to spare her loyal servants the pain of missing their brethren. The Fallen are nothing but an echo in the minds of the angels.

2) Angels in general do not have a personal space. They were created as a Host. But in a human vessel they cannot deny the effect of physical closeness. Neither as comfort nor as threat. And Gabriel's vessel is very tall!


End file.
